good morning, america. this morning -- tracking the superstorm. sandy is massive and on the march up the east coast, about to become a hurricane and winter storm. more than 50 million americans in the cross-hairs. where will this thing hit. our extreme weather team has the latest. bracing for impact, could this storm shut down america's largest city. millions are told they could lose electricity for up to ten days. the political storm. it's driving thousands to the polls for early voting and causing the campaigns to redo their plans for the

all-important stretch run. and tsunami warning. off the west coast. for hawaii. we'll have the latest. hey, good morning. we're watching this developing storm with the hawaii tsunami warning. we'll start here, of course, with the superstorm, which one meteorologist has called part hurricane and part nor'easter. all trouble. look at sandy from space. it's expected to have tropical-force winds that extend out 500 miles from center. >> states of emergency have been declared up and down the east coast. a third of the country is expecting some combination of high wind, rain and snow.

take a look at this stastic. 261,000 homes, more than $80 billion in real estate could see storm surge damage if sandy hits shore. >> the big question this morning -- is when and where this megastorm hit land? sam champion has tracking the spot. from battery park in lower manhattan. good morning to you, sam. >> good morning. we're right here with new york harbor behind us. we'll be able to see how wide this band of water is. any water that's at this shoreline will have to hop up over lower manhattan. a good flooding situation orfor

this area. the hurricane center has the latest satellite picture. when you see the clouds are stretching from that south carolina area to georgia, all of the way up to maine and beyond into canada, this is a very large system. as a matter of fact, one of the largest storms that we have seen in the atlantic basin. take a look at the path here. hurricane center says it's still expected to get up and make a left-hand turn. we may expect to see movement turn toward the coastline as late as sunday night and then make the turn, the more direct turn on monday. tuesday, finding a home somewhere on the jersey shore, into new york city. if you follow the path. but look at that mile of wind path there. that's about a 1,000 miles of tropical-force to winds. on the jersey shore, in the new york harbor, long island sound,

it won't make a difference in the rainfall, the rainfall is going to be constant, steady, heavy for about two days and even well inland. take a look at how it goes into pittsburgh, boston. just know we're looking at that red zone, pittsburgh, red zone. right now, this storm isn't too far off the shoreline and pounding some parts of our coast. the outer banks and our matt gutman is there. >> good morning, sam. it looks very, very messy. this wind has been howling through here all night. look at this shoreline. just about 24 hours ago, about 150 yards that way, it has been steady encroaching, relentlessly moving in, this is the dreaded storm surge that everyone is so concerned about. also, this is a different type

of storm than in the past. a hurricane is generally tropical but this is cold. it's biting. it gets right down to the bone. you may see all of this white stuff flying in the air, that is not snow, this is seafoam picked up by these waters out there just off the coast. all of this surging in here, i don't know if you can see it, but the waves have been breaking nearly a mile out and they're coming in with such force bang ing off of this pier. people didn't expect this type of weather this long to last and to be this powerful. dan? >> matt gutman, stay safe and stay warm. pretty soon, the action is going to be in the northeast. tarls already cancelling flights.

even talk about shutting down the new york transit. hurricane irene wasn't that bad. i'm not going to worry this time, sam. >> dan, we were right over here. the thing about hurricane irene, we got to remember, it was a very bad storm, it brought a lot of rain and a lot of flooding to inland areas. it didn't do the coastal damage. all of the problems that you could have with this system, coastal damage is just one, then you have rain, wind and then flooding. in this case, you have snow as well. you got those five points. maybe one point wasn't as bad in irene in the biggest part of new york. but i'll tell you in the biggest population center of new york, but that was a bad storm for a lot of folks. be prepared for this storm to have a stronger coastal effects.

it may be more wind and more rain if these forecasters are right this morning. our ginger zee is right now in atlantic city, where they're getting ready for that. i remember that coastline, it barely ramps out from the water to where those casinos are, good morning. >> i have lost everything. i have no mon store. >> reporter: you can see that--y >> stand by. all right, we're having some technical problems there in new jersey and lower manhattan. we'll get back to both ginger and sam as soon as possible. terms of massive power o outages. they could last more than a

week. crews are already in crisis mode. working overtime. doing their best to keep the lights on. david kerley has more from delaware. >> reporter: hey, dan harris, let me tell me not only the wind here and the storm surge, here in delaware, they told everyone to get out of here by 8:00 tonight. the other concern not only for the coast but for everyone inland is the lights, electricity and whether the power goes out for days. this is what millions of americans and hundreds of power companies are worried about, last year, irene left 7 million homes without power. even before sandy's hurricane winds and rains, utility crews are out trimming trees, putting crews in place. vince has been with the utility that serves south jersey including atlantic city for 28 years, has never seen a storm like this and knows a lot of his

customers are going to lose power. >> we're prepared for what the worst can bring. >> reporter: the new jersey governor declaring a state of emergency, warning residents they could be without power for ten to 15 days. and governor chris christie is worried. >> general new jersey. if it looks stupid it is stupid. >> reporter: they're driving to the east coast in front of sandy's wrath. how bad could it be? believe it or not, this guy thinks he has an idea. a researcher at johns hopkins, he's predicted how many of us may lose power. remember, irene left 7 million without power. >> our model suggest 10 million. >> reporter: roughly 10 million without power for a week or

more. if 50 million feel the effect of this, 1 in 5, could be without electricity. a very big storm coming our way. >> that's an unbelievable number. we'll go back out to sam champion in new york city, in preparations under way for how this city, the largest city in the country, would deal with hurricane sandy. >> bianna, you know, we have seen storms move up this coastline and breeze by new york. only one hurricane in recent memory irene made a move to this city and the city got ready for it. forecasters are being careful to let folks know right away that this storm has more strong effects than irene may have had. new york city is operating under a state of emergency and wants

everyone prepared today for a monday storm. boarding up homes and buildings. >> i'm really nervous about this. i am. i'm cooking. i'm thinking that we're not going to eat for the next six days. >> reporter: they're helping to drain flood waters. >> strengthen unexpectedly or change its expected path. it could do a lot of damage and you could be at risk. >> reporter: new york transit officials are preparing for a possible shutdown of the subway system, the largest transit system in the world. >> shut down when i'm in the city that's a problem. >> reporter: it create a storm surge larger than last year's hurricane irene. possibly filling the subway tunnels with water. >> lower manhattan is the most vulnerable place to a storm surge. we're closing public transit should the need arise. >> since when know that the

coastal effects are just one part of this storm, we have to talk about a lot of people being involved. it's not just new york city, but it's the biggest in the path. the coastal will feel it first, but this storm spreads inland a lot. >> reporter: it does. atlantic city, obviously is going to feel it. one of the first places. once that storm continues on, all of the way to ohio, western pennsylvania, even canada. in atlantic city, they're taking it very seriously, some of the businesses have already been boarding up. only emergency vehicles coming all of the way through. other than that, we're really not going to imagine much more than the storm surge. that's the biggest concern here in atlantic city. in 34 years of legalized gambling this is what has happened, shutdown of casinos three times. irene being the last time.

we didn't hit that hard enough, right at the coast, from jersey shore up through new york city, long island, you get the bigger numbers. because of the shape of the land, it's going to help that southwest to -- southeast to the northwest flow. other spots will have a surge. we're talking 60 to 80 miles an hour winds in that red area, boston, pittsburgh is included. washington, d.c., even. the purple area all of the way through maine, 40 to 60-mile-per-hour winds. you have emphasized sam how many times how big this is. this storm is going to here for a long time and we'll be following it throughout the

entire thing. thank you, ginger. meanwhile, 5,000 miles to the west, another breaking story we're watching very closely right now. a massive earthquake off the west coast, triggering a tsunami for hawaii. our affiliate in hawaii reports. >> reporter: very serious situation in hawaii. earlier this morning, the civil servicish shug an evacuation. they are seeing some of those tsunami waves come in. still fairly serious situation out here with what may happen in the bays. still going to be a long night tonight. at least a couple of more hours before they consider lowering that advisory. we'll send it back to youm. >> thank you, lara. back out to sam, walk me

through the science here, how long could they be on alert in hawaii? >> dan, first of all, as soon as that earthquake happened, knowing that it's 7.7, they did all of the right things. they put the warnings out, thinking that may this would be a bad run of waves. evacuating those lower levels of hawaii were a very good idea. so, you e initially think that first wave would run away from that, remember, this is a subsiding zone, one plate is underneath another plate. a little wave or two and one or two, three, in this case four waves went out and went toward hawaii and down the coast of california as well. now, normally, you would look for the bigger waves and the

bigger tsunami problems, at an 58 or 9, they did the absolute right thing by getting those sirens out. these waves have been traveling, like two to four feet in many locations, you can't give everyone the all-clear until the entire system said that the water has traveled. until the buoys have said it's all calm you can't give the all clear. there may be more aftershocks and more waves. dan? >> thank you, sam. let's bring in george stephanopoulos, host of twooek. how this is going to affect the elections. nine days until voters go to the polls. >> we have seen some of the effect. both governor romney and president obama have canceled effe events in virginia.

one big impact right now. it's going to expect their effort to get out the vote. early voting didn't have much effect on early voting in florida yesterday. it could complicate it in virginia and ohio. then finally, is this storm as bad as it seems to be right now, it could block out the closing arguments of these candidates. >> i wonder if you're the president how do you manage campaigning, because his job is truly on the line here with governing and imagine perhaps a large disaster. >> he's returning to the white house tomorrow afternoon, as i said, cancelling some events. the biggest problem for the president right now, if he makes any mishandling of this storm could affect the final days of this race. >> in nonweather news, a bit of

surprise, the des moines register, the largest newspaper endorsed romney. >> iowa is a key state. it's part of barack obama's mid western fire wall. >> he needs to win iowa, wisconsin and ohio. the obama campaign said they're ahead in iowa right now, this could make some difference in the end and it reinforces the argument that romney is making. he's best positioned to make the bipartisan compromises. >> george stephanopoulos, thank you. george stephanopoulos has a huge show this morning, his guests include stephanie cutter from the obama campaign and the former house speaker newt gingrich. other top stories. >> there's other news. good morning, everyone.

another potential attack on a u.s. embassy may have be thwarted. 11 people have been arrested on atta attacks, including the american embassy in jakarta. new details on the tragic story of the new york city nanny who allegedly killed two young children, family and friends of that nanny that she had been unraveling in recent months. ortega is still in the hospital with self-inflicted knife wounds the young man known as the victim number one in the jerry sandusky sexual abuse scandal is speaking out on bullying. he was trying to help to put an end to bullying and help other abuse victims come forward. jerry sandusky, the former penn

state assistant coach was sentenced up to 60 years in prison for his crimes. seven people were injured when a town car crashed in los angeles. none of the injuries are considered life-threatening. police said that the driver thought he was in reverse when he accelerated instead. san francisco giants are one win away from winning the world series. the giants scored early runs last night and that's all they would need. the giants go for the sweep and for their second title in three years tonight. as a native san francisco, i wouldn't mind seeing the giants win the world series. let's go back out to sam champion with look at the nation's weather. good morning, everybody.

the extreme team is out. ginger is down the coastline. in case you're now just waking up, the storm is on track, sandy, to continue to move up the coastline. lit make that left-hand turn monday into tuesday being a bad storm from those areas shaded in red up the coastline, i would include this not to be a coastal situation but inland. lot of power outages and flooding expected. the shot of cold air, come numbers like this, frost and freeze warnings on you are out in a lot of places. little rock, 28. quick look at the big board. rain and snow also in the northwest. a warm, dry spot, phoenix sounds pretty good to us. dallas, up to 64 degrees. feeling that cold air in atlanta. first big push of cold air this season through a big part of the country and it's certainly

getting involved in that coastal system as well. that's a look around the nation. here's what you can expect. >> your extreme weather team is out in full force this morning covering the storm along the shore shoreline. much more coming up. extreme weather team all over the storm. then, the big question, what

happens from there. sandy's ripple effects on travel. the mess that this could storm could make for travel across the country could be terrible. we have a little bit of light eer fare this morning -- gaggle of puppies trying to get inside this house. who will figure it out? we'll show you coming up. keep it here on "good morning america." [ male announcer ] behold the joy, bliss and total delight that can only come from having someone else pay your mortgage for an entire year... this is what you'll experience if you win the quicken loans skip-a-year mortgage sweepstakes. up to five winners will get to skip a year of mortgage payments... courtesy of quicken loans. enter often at skipayear.com for more chances to experience...this... the skip-a-year mortgage sweepstakes. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze!

because four out of five dogs over the age of three develop gum disease, and tartar buildup is a contributing factor. [ dog ] or new dentastix fresh. clinically proven to fight tartar and now with added ingredients to fight dog breath, too. and now with added ingredients nayou just mix together a few. simple ingredients, add a bit of heat, and "voila."

so to make truvia baking blend, we shared one of nature's most surprising secrets: sweetness from the stevia leaf. for a blend of truvia natural sweetener and sugar that bakes and browns like sugar, with 75% fewer calories per serving. from nature, for sweetness.

these are sandra's "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? maybe. rich chocolate chips... i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and, and...and then the awards started coming in, and i became addicted to the fame. topped with chocolaty drizzle... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. fiber beyond recognition.

♪ in everything you do [ female announcer ] add your own ingredients to hamburger helper for a fresh take on a quick, delicious meal. it's one box with hundreds of possibilities. of green giant vegetables it's easy to eat like a giant... ♪ and feel like a green giant. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant

you're looking at live picture of nags, head, north carolina, as the country anticipates and braces for hurricane sandy, this is a monster of a storm, you see the seafoam developing there and sprague towards the camera. >> this is just the early signs there. you see matt gutman walking into frame. this is the early sign, this is rehoboth beach. good morning, america, i'm dan harris. alongside bianna golodryga. that's the first time i have ever mispronounced your last name. it's october 28th. we're talking about that epic superstorm this morning. we'll tell you about the travel

delays this storm has caused. hundreds of flight cancellations and it's threatening to cause a domino effect all over the country. amtrak traveling -- causing some delays as well. a real sense of where the storm is now and what it's going to do when it makes land fall. it's marching up the east coast. >> our extreme weather team has the very latest starting with sam champion who's in battery park city, a low-lying neighborhood that's on high alert. sam? >> good morning. you can see why. if you look right behind us, all of that is new york harbor, where we're standing right here, three feet from coming up. now, we'll talk a little bit about that amtrak and subway issue. roads and trains like am rank

the, they're susceptible to trees down. you're looking at three feet of water before it pops the area here, all of that water runs where? into subways. . that's the biggest concern. they may have to close down buses and subways. lot of weather problems. it's not just the storm surge, it's wind, it's flooding rains and the kickback, more rain will run off from wherever that heavy rain is going. so, with all of that, let's show you where the track of this storm is, so you're prepared. right on track. hurricane center hasn't changed much at all. knowing that this thing is curving up the coastline by monday, making that left-hand turn on to the jersey shore, making it land fall from jersey shore, central jersey to somewhere in long island. as ginger zee is about to show

you, it's doesn't matter much other than the coastal weather effects where this storm is going. i'm going to go to matt gutman first, this storm breezed by matt is. look at that, matt is standing in what looks like seaseafoam. good morning, matt. >> reporter: what's so shocking about this storm, it's about 200 miles off the coast and still we're getting all of this weather. this looks like snow, but it's seafoam. it's kicking up all of this wind and wave action ands toing all of this stuff inland. that's a big concern here. this is just a sliver of what folks forther up north and mid-atlantic going to see. lot of folks accustomed to storms like this, like hurricanes, haven't seen it. this is the biting cold that's

accompanying it. i'm wearing multiple layers of clothing right now. it's so wet. the combination of wind, rain, all of this storm surge coming in, pushing up against here, exploding these waves, exploding against the pier, it's going to make it very, very complicated and messy for a lot of folks out there. ginger? >> hey, matt. >> can't hear you with all of the seafoam in my face. >> but look at how angry that ocean is on that shoreline and we're expecting this storm to make a curve and move onshore, somewhere near where our ginger zee is right now. ginger is in atlantic city. as we're pointing out, it practically doesn't matter where this storm makes land fall, such a big storm with so many problems. >> it is. all of the waves, anywhere

coastally, from jersey, up to long island, it's going to been issue. already starting to see the water pile up. a little bit of seafoam. we got a little barrier that's happening right before that iconic boardwalk. that's what they're concerned about. you the water surge. i want to show you the breadth of that storm and how -- >> difficulties there. with ginger zee. we'll get back to ginger and sam as the broadcast continues. we'll be all over this story for days as sam was saying, it doesn't really matter that much where the storm comes ashore because it's going to merge with a cold front and create a

hybrid, disaster-type storm, a combination of a nor'easter and a hurricane, this is going to it is and spin over this country of the country for days. we'll be covering for days. let's check in with ron claiborne. in the news, the other big story this morning the tsunami warnings in hawaii has now be downgraded to a advisory. emergency evacuations were ordered after a massive earthquake off of the west coast of canada. but the waves in hawaii were smaller than expected. the superstorm known as sandy has both presidential candidates cancelling events. mitt romney has canceled events in virginia and instead is going to ohio. statue of liberty is scheduled to reopen today. lady liberty underwent a year-long interior makeover, that will enable 26,000 more

people to visit the crown of the statue of liberty every year the first space station to deliver supplies is now on its way home, the dragon capsule, it's set to splash down in the pacific ocean this afternoon. time now for the nation's weather, back to sam champion in lower manhattan. the extreme weather team is out covering the likely hit zones of this storm. let's get to the other weather. we got to talk about some cold temperatures and rain elsewhere in the country today. the northwest rain, spokane, portland, you're getting some rain out of this system. you get that upslope coming off the west coast. you'll pick up one to two inches of rain. a little bit of mountain snow involved in that. all eyes are on sandy, a coastal

storm that will be a real issue from washington, d.c., philadelphia, new york city, all of the way up to boston. so big areas with big populations watching the storm tonight into tomorrow. >> all of america's weather was brought to you by edward jones. ginger zee is just down shore. the extreme team is on it. coming up on "good morning america" -- travel nightmare. the superstorm marching up the east coast has already forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights and causing a ripple effect across the nation. we'll have an update. and we got some lighter stuff in "fixation."

four puppies and a cat to get inside. we'll show you in just a few minutes here on "good morning america." [ female announcer ] wake up with your favorite instant coffee same great taste, now with a great new look that can be ready in a... [ pop! ] ♪

folgers instant coffee the taste you love just got more instant. that was me... the day i learned i had to start insulin for my type 2 diabetes. me... thinking my only option was the vial and syringe dad used. and me... discovering once-daily levemir® flexpen. flexpen® is prefilled. doesn't need refrigeration for up to 42 days. no drawing from a vial. dial the exact dose. inject by pushing a button. flexpen® is insulin delivery... my way. levemir® (insulin detemir [rdna origin] injection) is a long-acting insulin used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes and is not recommended to treat diabetic ketoacidosis. do not use levemir® if you are allergic to any of its ingredients.

the most common side effect is low blood sugar, which may cause symptoms such as sweating, shakiness, confusion, and headache. severe low blood sugar can be serious and life threatening. ask your healthcare provider about alcohol use, operating machinery, or driving. other possible side effects include injection site reactions. tell your healthcare provider about all medicines you take and all of your medical conditions. get medical help right away if you experience serious allergic reactions, such as body rash, trouble with breathing, fast heartbeat, or sweating. with flexpen®... say good night to vial and syringe. ask your doctor about levemir® flexpen. covered by 90% of insurance plans, including medicare. find your co-pay at myflexpen.com.

and there you are looking at live picture of nags head, north carolina, as that state braces for the impact of hurricane sandy, you can see the seafoam already developing. not just the hurricane affecting the state but also very, very cold there. another live shot from rehoboth beach, delaware, as that state prepares for evacuations. the entire seaboard anticipating the wrath of this hurricane. >> so important to keep in mind as they clear away the clutter because they expect the high winds there to throw away things. it will making landfall some time late monday night, tuesday morning. it will be with us for days. this epic storm taking aim at the east coast as we said,

hasn't even hit yet, it's already wreaking havoc on travel not only the east coast but coast to coast. >> hundreds of flights have been canceled. trains stopped in their tracks. and roads expected to be impassable. joining us now is john muller. >> reporter: for anyone planning to travel in this massive storm, make no mistake the ripple effect s for the entire zone. hundreds of cancellations. 900 flights canceled today. 2500 canceled for monday. almost major carrier is allowing a flexibility travel plan. delta reschedule by november 4th. give your airline an acall, if your flight is canceled, you're

entitled to a full refund. am strak, chicago, face cancellations. give amtrak a call if you plan on traveling over the next couple of days. of course, driving that will be treacherous, if not impossible in some areas. fierce winds, poor visibility, flooded roadways. downed trees and power lines. all is expected. best advice, plan on staying home during the worst of it. >> great advice, john muller and we'll be right back. look i made a face. awesome.

why don't we make a pumpkin. what do pumpkins look like? what's... like this. you're my pumpkin! what do you think? i made a bat. [ boy ] i made a sword. [ both laugh ] ♪ you're gonna love those. [ female announcer ] carve out some time with your little pumpkins. boo! boo! [ female announcer ] happy halloween... from rice krispies.

looks like your bags didn't make it. we'll send them to your hotel. [ sad music playing ] this is fun. [ sad music continues ] [ knock on door ] your bags, sir. thanks. both: finally! one taste, and you'll understand. enjoy delicious dunkin' donuts coffee anytime. best vacation ever! pick some up where you buy groceries. america runs on dunkin'. nyquil tylenol: we are?ylenol. you know we're kinda like twins. nyquil (stuffy): yeah, we both relieve coughs, sneezing, aches, fevers. tylenol: and i relieve nasal congestion. nyquil (stuffy): overachiever. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't.

♪ you're my obsession from storm coverager. ron. >> from the world of sports a high school football scrimmage, check out this guy, he tackles him, leaps over him, landing on his feet backwards. some cynics say this was all stage. they were right. it was an at&t viral commercial >> that's impressive nonetheless. speaking of impressive. a bunch op puppies and a cat trying to get inside. one of them is able to figure it out. and it's the cat. proof once again, bianna, that cats are superior. >> i like cats. america, i like cats. >> freeloading puppies, ladies and gentlemen. >> the trifecta of acrobatic

stories this morning. i have a great balancing act picture to show you, take a look at this video of a music festival in uk. this is not staged. take a look at what this guy does. >> that looks uncomfortable. >> my stomach hurts. and there he goes, spinning away. >> we'll be right back with more storm coverage with sam and ginger. keep it here. here's my morning routine.

wardrobe. cute. then new activia breakfast blend. mmm... a great way to help start the day. and it helps regulate your digestive system. new activia breakfast blend.

with over 200 varieties, keurig makes brewing a delicious cup of coffee simple. how does it brew such great coffee? well... inside the brewer are these green fields of coffee, and if you travel up this mountain, there's this huge coffee grinder. and then the coffee lands in this cup and water rushes through. actually, i just press this button.

brew what you love, simply. keurig. there's no subtext... just tacos. yeah, it's our job to make you want it. but honestly... it's not that hard. old el paso. when you gotta have mexican. progresso. in what world do potatoes, bacon and cheese add up to 100 calories? your world. ♪ [ whispers ] real bacon... creamy cheese... 100 calories... [ chef ] ma'am

[ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios! my bowl, my spoons! mom, are those my jeans? [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios has whole grain and 110 delicious calories. ...more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios in multi-grain cheerios peanut butter. as you know big weather storm brewing. let's get out to sam for one late final thought. sam? >> guys, i want to show you one more thing. take a look at the sky scrapers here in new york city, like the freedom tower, lot of open con

instruction zones, you don't need to be out in this storm at all, flying debris is going to be a real problem with the wind. >> thank you for watching everyone at home. thank you, sam. keep it at abcnews.com for all of the weather updates. and "this week" with george stephanopoulos is coming up later this morning. ñ ♪ just put a little bit of yourself ♪

♪ in everything you do [ female announcer ] add your own ingredients to hamburger helper for a fresh take on a quick, delicious meal. it's one box with hundreds of possibilities. of green giant vegetables it's easy to eat like a giant... ♪ and feel like a green giant. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant